Firm Profile > Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP > Tokyo , Japan

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP Offices

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
IZUMI GARDEN TOWER, 28TH FLOOR
1-6-1 ROPPONGI, MINATO-KU
TOKYO 106-6028
Japan
Visit website 81 3 3224 2900 81 3 3224 2901

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP > The Legal 500 Rankings

Dispute resolution: International firms and joint ventures Tier 1

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is renowned for its expertise in international arbitration and mediation. Also notable is the firm's work on complex white-collar law, whistle-blowing, anti-bribery and anti-corruption matters. Yoshihiro Takatori spearheads the litigation department as well the firm's global Japan practice; he is regularly retained by the Japanese government to advise on international arbitration, while also representing a stellar roster of private clients. Office manager Shinsuke Yakura is a notable name while, at the junior level, senior associate Kazuo Isshiki focuses on intellectual property, antitrust, product liability and internal investigations for both domestic and foreign companies. David Case has left the firm to start his own firm in the US.

Intellectual property: International firms and joint ventures Tier 2

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP provides both outbound and inbound intellectual property (IP) counsel to its Japanese and international clients. Under the leadership of Shinsuke Yakura, the team handles cross-border disputes, license negotiations, transactions and portfolio management, with strong expertise in new technologies such as artificial intelligence. Yoshihiro Takatori heads the litigation department in Tokyo and has a strong track record in acting in cross-border IP and counterfeiting issues on behalf of Japanese clients. David Case has left the firm to start his own firm in the US. Anri Nakamoto has been promoted to managing associate. Also notable in the team is fellow managing associate Kei Kato.

Labour and employment: International firms and joint ventures Tier 2

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP provides Japanese employment law counsel to international clients, particularly on the contentious front. However, the team also advises on non-contentious M&A transactions and the employment issues that arise therefrom. Yumiko Ohta spearheads the Tokyo-based group which was recently bolstered by the arrival of corporate associate Ben Miller from Nishimura & Asahi. In recent highlights, Ohta successfully obtained a global settlement for a multinational company in a dispute with its former founder-employee.

Projects and energy: International firms and joint ventures Tier 2

Under the leadership of Yoichi Katayama, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP has been advising on some of the most significant inbound energy project mandates, including an expansive 121.6MW Tsugaru wind facility and the 235MW Setouchi solar facility, while also continuing to assist Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry with opinions and information for structuring the Feed-In-Tariff system and its model power purchase agreement. On the outbound front, practice co-head James Atkin continues to provide expert oil and gas counsel to Japanese clients regarding their investments overseas. Also notable on the renewables side are Minako Wakabayashi and of counsel Yuko Inui.

Real estate and construction: International firms and joint ventures Tier 2

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP advises on the full gamut of real estate investments, complex cross-border acquisitions and financings and joint ventures. Toshihiko Tsuchiya's team specialises in both inbound and outbound cross-border real estate transactions with a particular emphasis on representing Japanese institutional investors in their investments overseas. Also notable is Yuko Ino, who has experience in new technologies including fintech and crowdfunding. David Gotsill has relocated to the San Francisco office.

Corporate and M&A: International firms and joint ventures Tier 3

The corporate team at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is best known for its expertise in the startup space. Jointly led by Hiroki Sugita and Mark Weeks – who shares his time between Tokyo and Hong Kong – the team regularly acts for several early-stage companies, venture capital funds, and unicorn companies based in Japan. The group covers a vast array of transactions including private equity investments, joint ventures, and private and public M&A deals.

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP > Firm Profile

The firm: Orrick is a global law firm focused on serving clients in the technology and innovation, energy and infrastructure and finance sectors. Founded more than 150 years ago, the firm today has 1,200 lawyers in offices across Asia, Europe, the United States and Africa, and has been named to Law360’s “Global 20” list of the world’s leading international law firms seven times. Clients worldwide call on Orrick for forward-looking commercial advice on transactions, litigation and compliance matters. Orrick is driven by innovation and was singled out by Financial Times as the Most Innovative Law Firm in North America in 2016 and 2017, and is recognized for innovative work in both Asia and Europe.

The Tokyo-based team collaborates seamlessly with the firm’s offices globally to provide the best and most responsive legal solutions for clients. The firm serves both Japanese clients and international clients doing business in Japan on a full range of transactional and regulatory matters, as well as those requiring dispute resolution.

Areas of practice: Corporate/M&A: Orrick in Japan has a long history of helping clients with cross-border M&As, joint ventures and other commercial transactions. With offices in key jurisdictions around the world, the firm is particularly adept in transactions that span multiple jurisdictions. The firm’s Tokyo-based team also advises global investors with Japan-based interests.

Intellectual property: Orrick is one of the most active law firms representing Japanese multinational companies in sensitive patent and IP matters in Japan, China and the US. Orrick lawyers have secured a string of wins before the International Trade Commission in Section 337 matters and before district and appellate courts throughout the US. Tokyo-based IP lawyers are also known for handling complex disputes in Japanese courts, involving patents, copyrights and trade marks, as well as unfair competition and trade secret actions.

Litigation and dispute resolution: Orrick helps Japanese clients navigate complex multi-jurisdictional commercial disputes on antitrust, product liability, international arbitration, FCPA, UKBA and compliance investigations. The Tokyo team also works with the firm’s global data privacy and cybersecurity lawyers to advise Japanese clients on managing risks across a range of data privacy and cybersecurity-relevant issues. Recently Orrick represented a client in the first international commercial mediation proceeding to be administrated by the Japan Commercial Arbitration Association (JCAA).

Employment law and HR consultation: Orrick advises on dispute resolution cases in Japan, and consults clients on all legal aspects of their employment and HR strategies in Japanese proceedings in multiple languages and under a variety of arbitral rules and governing laws.

Energy and infrastructure: Orrick has decades of experience advising on complex cross-border energy projects in the power, oil and gas and Renewable Energy. The team plays an active role in the reinvigoration of Japan’s green sector. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry turned to Orrick for structuring Japan’s feed-in tariff policy, designed to accelerate investment in renewable energy. Since 2013, Orrick has acted for Setouchi Future Creation, a special-purpose company consisting of GE Energy Financial Services, Toyo Engineering and Kuni Umi Asset Management, as sponsor of the massive 231.44MW Setouchi Solar Project, which will be the largest PV solar project in Japan when it launches in 2019.

Real estate finance: Orrick advises global investors on their cross-border joint ventures, acquisitions of real estate assets, property developments and complex financing transactions in Japan. The team also helps Japanese real estate investors in all phases of real estate investments, financings, developments, fund formation, leasing and operations overseas.

Technology companies: Orrick advises Japanese and global technology-driven ventures at all stages of growth on a wide range of legal and strategic matters. The team is bringing a ‘Silicon Valley’ style practice to Japan and building connections between entrepreneurial companies and venture capital in the US.

Main Contacts

Department Name Email Telephone
Antitrust and competition Yoshihiro Takatori ytakatori@orrick.com +81 3 3224 2911
Banking and finance Yoichi Katayama ykatayama@orrick.com +81 3 3224 2921
Corporate M&A Hiroki Sugita hsugita@orrick.com +81 3 3224 2953
Cybersecurity and data privacy Yoshihiro Takatori ytakatori@orrick.com +81 3 3224 2911
Employment Yumiko Ohta yohta@orrick.com +81 3 3224 2829
Energy and Infrastructure Yoichi Katayama ykatayama@orrick.com +81 3 3224 2921
Fintech Yuko Ino yino@orrick.com +81 3 3224 2908
Intellectual property Shinsuke Yakura syakura@orrick.com +81 3 3224 2922
International arbitration Yoshihiro Takatori `ytakatori@orrick.com +81 3 3224 2911
Dispute Resolution and International Arbitration Shinsuke Yakura syakura@orrick.com +81 3 3224 2922
Mass torts and product liability Yoshihiro Takatori ytakatori@orrick.com +81 3 3224 2911
Real estate and finance Toshihiko Tsuchiya ttsuchiya@orrick.com +81 3 3224 2910
Real Estate and Real Estate Finance Yuko Ino yino@orrick.com +81 3 3224 2908
Technology start-up and venture capital representation Hiroki Sugita hsugita@orrick.com +81 3 3224 2953
White-collar and corporate investigations Yoshihiro Takatori ytakatori@orrick.com +81 3 3224 2911
White-collar and Corporate Investigation Shinsuke Yakura syakura@orrick.com +81 3 3224 2922
Structured Finance Toshihiko Tsuchiya ttsuchiya@orrick.com +81 3 3224 2910

Staff Figures

Number of lawyers at this office : 25
in this country : 25
worldwide : 1,200

Languages

Chinese
English
Japanese

Top Tier Firm Rankings

Firm Rankings